Allison Franks (Hobbit.Town Jewelry)

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Hey everyone! I came across an interesting website today and thought I would share it with you. It's called storenvy. Basically it's another shopping outlet geared towards indie artists and handmade goodies, but there's some other stuff on their too. Seriously, you can find a lot of cool stuff on here. I didn't even look that hard and found all kinds of stuff! And it's just as addicting as pinterest and wanelo so watch out! ;)

Anyways, I just opened up shop here so please by all means check it out: hobbit.town/storenvy
Right now I've only got a few things posted, but I'll have plenty more to come over the next few weeks. Oh and if you are already a member on storenvy please add me as a friend and I'll return the favor! ;)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Well they did it again! Every year the USPS increases their shipping rates sometime in January and now they have finally gone into effect for 2013. Personally, I think this is the largest increase to date especially when concerning International rates which have almost doubled! Absolutely ridiculous. But what can you do?

That being said I've had to raise my shipping prices on etsy. Here is a detailed account of what you can now expect to see in my shop(s) as of today.

Inside the US orders: $3.25 (only a measly .25 cent upcharge you guys. You lucked out!) - NOTE: This price still includes tracking information.

Canada orders: $4.25 (not bad only a .75 cent increase here)

All Other Orders Outside the US: $8.00 (a HUGE increase here of $3.00!!) - Absolutely crazy if you ask me but I don't have a say in this. So sorry for the inconvenience to all my non-US customers. I hope you understand and still choose to support my shop.

Non-US orders: If you live outside the US please contact me for your new appropriated
shipping rates!! I have to assess them individually now due to the weight differences of my items and since each
country was given a different price increase. Sorry for any
inconvenience this may cause you. Unfortunately this is out of my hand.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Today I'd like to share with you yet another amazing etsy seller: Naomi Bell of Tea Time Inc.

Naomi makes wonderfully unique rockabilly and steampunk clothing and accessories with a nerdy twist. While her items run on the more expensive side (at least for me) I can assure you her items are 100% worth the price. A few months back, I had her make me a custom Batman dress and I can't stop wearing it! It's was made with very high quality stitching, soft and vibrant cotton fabric, plus the faux utility belt is to die for! My only suggestion to buyers is that when ordering make sure to give slightly up-sized measurements because the cotton fabric used is on the thicker side and it doesn't provide a lot of stretch. Thus, mine is a tiny bit snug in the waist but I don't care. I love it anyways!Holy Rockabilly Batman Dress:

So, if you get a chance please do check out her shop Tea Time Inc. on etsy. She has so many cool items for sale and is very friendly to work with.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

So, remember how at the beginning of the year I mentioned that I splurged and bought myself some awesome Sailor Moon goodies for xmas?? Well I'm finally going to show them too you!! Yahoo!! Technically they didn't arrive in time for Christmas because shipping from Japan takes forever... but who cares. When they arrived I still flipped out and acted like a little girl on xmas (hahah)

So this year I went ALL OUT and bought 2 totally bitchin' Sailor Moon goodies for myself. ;)

Number 1: Sailor Moon Super S Kaleidoscope Wand

This is something I have wanted for SO long! Super S has always been one of my favorite seasons because Rini's first love is so cute!! And the back story behind Queen Nehelenia is killer too. ;) So I finally broke down and got the original, licensed BANDAI version of the Kaleidoscope Wand. The wings can be moved up and down and it plays two different melodies. When you press either button lights flash on and off down the wand and the buttons can be held down to play the songs repeatedly forever and ever! (or at least until your fingers get tired..) Honestly, it's freakin' fantastic! It ended up costing quite a bit of money...but I can't stop playing with it! Totally worth the splurge. Besides you only live once right?

And now I have three wands to play with! Only two more to go! Anyways...moving on

Number 2: Sailor Moon Keytar!

O.k. I didn't even know this item existed before! So, when I found it I was beyond ecstatic. I also don't know it's technical title since I can't seem to find it anywhere online and the box is in Japanese, but it is an official and licensed product by BANDAI. This thing is beyond cool! Once again it's a very rare and hard to find item, so you gotta be willing to pay for it. But I assure you it's worth it. This keytar is hot pink and comes with an adjustable pink strap. It works as a fully functional keyboardand has 8 pre-programmed Sailor Moon beats for you to jam to! Also it has a volume switch and a jack hook-up so you can plug in your headphones OR hook it up to some speakers! EEK!! I'm totally going to start a band now. Who's with me??

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The new year is off to a very good start so far. Over the last few weeks, I've been having a blast creating all kinds of goodies for both hobbit.town jewelry and sinsperations and I can't wait to show them to you! Look below for a sneak peek and stay tuned for more funky jewelry, creepy art boxes, cutesy ornaments and more. ;)

Without further adieu here's a few of my favorite new items for the year. Hope you all enjoy!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Wow you guys. I was busier than I thought last weekend during the WEAR IF YOU DARE team trading event! While I don't regret anything and am ULTRA excited for all my new goodies I had no clue I traded with so many different participating shops. The final count was 15! Yeesh. I was seriously not looking forward to taking the walk of shame to the post office today. Oh well. No more trading for me for awhile! Gotta focus on sales, sales, sales!!

Thanks again to everyone for participating in this awesome event. I had a blast and can't wait to share all my goodies with you guys once they arrive.

If you are unfamiliar with the WEAR IF YOU DARE etsy team and want to get involved please check us out here: WEAR IF YOU DARE

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Chaos subsides as the WEAR IF YOU DARE team trading event comes to a close this evening at midnight. I had a BLAST though!! Got some really cool things out of this and can't wait to show you guys! This team is super duper awesome and I had a blast meeting even more of them on the threads this weekend. ;)

Now all I need is a good night's sleep and some relaxation time! I can't believe I managed all this while working 4 doubles in a row too. Almost 40 hours in 4 days! Yeesh. I don't even want to think about the crazy amount of jewelry to ship out tomorrow (haha). Woo hoo!!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Over the last two years I've been trying to take more of an active role in the etsy community via forums, teams, treasuries and the like. Honestly, there's just so many cool things to get involved with on etsy now it's overwhelming! But my absolute FAVORITE thing about etsy right now is the amazing people I've met through the teams I've gotten involved with recently. It's so nice knowing there's other people out there like myself trying to make ends meet and follow their dreams. Plus, the games and activities are a lot of fun too!

So for you today I'm going to list off my top 3 favorite teams on etsy right now. If you are a seller/buyer on etsy and want to get involved just click on the team names and send in an invite. We'd love to welcome you aboard!!

Number 1: Needful Things Dark Trading Team
This team is so much fun! Got some extra stuff laying around the house? Or perhaps a box of crafts you keep meaning to craft with but never seem to get around to? These ladies will gladly trade your for it! And if you're comfortable with it you can even trade your shop items too. Trading is a great way to get to know other artists in the community, boost your sales, support other etsy shops AND get some cute stuff in exchange. And you don't have to pay for it! Honestly, it's a win win situation.

Number 2: Vintage Toy Addiction
Do you love toys?? Then this is just the place you've been looking for! No you can get together with other members of the community and talk about toys ALL DAY! How fun is that? Plus, you get to meet other like-minded individuals, play games, etc. It's very addictive. And if you sell toys or other vintage items on etsy its a fun way to connect and share your products with your fellow teammates.

If you're like me, then you enjoy making a statement with the things you wear and surround yourself with on a daily basis. And this is just the place to find ultra bizarre and extremely unique mind-blowing items! It's a relatively new group, but so far we've been having a blast. In fact we have a HUGE trading event happening this weekend; where participating shops battle it out to see who can make the most trades within the time limit. Plus, the winner takes home the prize!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Over the last year, I have been hopelessly addicted to the etsy shop: Pink Pandemonium

Based out of Sacramento, CA, shop owner Lesley Cottle makes extremely unique and creative jewelry, hair accessories, VHS pouches and more. And what's even better is that she's always happy to make you a custom piece! You name it, she'll make it! Plus, everything is extremely affordable too. What more could you ask for?

Here's a few photos of me pimpin all my awesome Pink Pandemonium goodies:

See what I'm talking about? Look at how cool all that stuff is! And some of it even glows in the dark. Bonus! If you haven't already heard of Pink Pandemonium please check out her etsy shop or find her on facebook. Trust me, you won't regret it.She's full of surprises! For real, just when I thought she'd out done herself...she goes and posts these bad babies:

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

This Christmas ruled!! First off, I've got an awesome boyfriend who totally out did himself this year. Then I got to see A John Waters Christmas!! AND I was very bad girl this year and treated myself to some very lovely items that I've wanted for so long I can still barely contain my excitement everytime I look at them!! Can you guess what they are? Oh yeah. Sailor Moon craziness is always what I need. (haha)

So all in all, Christmas was a blast. I even made a fancy home cooked meal! ;)

Here's the recap!

A John Waters Christmas: 12/14/12 @ Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA

I mean who doesn't love this guy!! He's handsome, hilarious and a proud wearer of one of the best mustaches ever. And seeing him do a live stand up act was totally boss. He had some very funny stories to share about xmas, Divine and oddly enough little children. Plus there was a Q&A at the end! Totally bought his book "Role Models" while I was there and it's signed too, yay! Can't wait to read it. ;)

Awesome Presents From My Super Fantastic Boyfriend, Marcus:

Books!

Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings LP!!

Dinosaur Fabric!!!

And my favorite....Tank Girl Art!!!!

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the food... but I found this amazing recipe for stuffed pork loins! It had dried cherries, parsley, jelly and all other kinds of stuff in there. Mmmmm! Plus I made some red potatoes and cookie creme pies to go with it. Super, super yummy!

Monday, January 7, 2013

It's a new year and I'm really excited for it! Just figured I'd take a moment to thank you all for your support. hobbit.town jewelry would not exist without you. ;)

Also, I have a few goals in mind for this blog and some exciting upcoming projects I can't wait to share with you! For now though I'd just like to update you all on where you can find my jewelry and support me and my shop on the web outside this blog.

Looking to get connected?? Just add me as a friend on one or all of the sites below. This is a great way for you to easily find out about sales, coupon codes, new items, custom orders and all kinds of other stuff!

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About Me

Hi there! My name is Allison Franks and I'm a craftoholic. (No, seriously)
I live for art, adventure, comics, and travel. But most of all I'm hopelessly addicted to creating totally bizarre jewelry that'll make people turn around and say, "Are those babies in frying pans on your ears?".
So I guess you could say I'm a 20-something small business owner living in Austin,TX with a BA in Anthropology. And I guess you could say I'm quite happy about that. But all that really matters is that I'm having the time of my life just being me!
If you'd like to learn more about me please add me as a friend! -
www.hobbittownjewelry.etsy.com www.facebook.com/hobbittown.jewelry